tear ducts and heartstrings

It’s likely the animal shelter would be open tomorrow, but I wanted to be able to give Chicken and Pig as much of a chance for a loving home as possible by giving them as much time to be adored at the shelter by loving families. I held on to them as long as I could without compromising that window.

It would be cool for some kids to come out to their living room to find two very sweet bunnies waiting for them Christmas morning. That’s what I’m praying for.

I dropped them off today.

Pictures, video from the past couple of days. Nearly six years of memories tucked away in my mind. My heart. I’ll try to share.

May’s synopsis: The writing really appealed to me; the actors delivered. Very effective, very powerful. Very Emma Thompson. So sad, but SO good.

May’s scale rating:

MAY!

May?

meh…

meh?

MESS.

This movie was taken from a play by the same name. It’s about a professor (Emma Thompson) who has terminal cancer. Christopher Lloyd is her doctor, and he prescribes a pretty intense treatment regimen. He connects her to a flux capacitor and streams about 80 jigawatts through her body.

Wait. Almost.

This movie comes off very much like a play with various switches between scenes. The dialogues between Emma Thompson’s monologues are well-placed. The flashbacks are particularly poignant. The story progresses slowly, if painfully, but that’s what it’s going for. The pauses are long and uncomfortable. The movie essentially begs the viewer’s participation.

Emma Thompson often speaks directly to the camera. She shares insights about her experience at the hospital. She introduces flashbacks. She confuses her presence with her memories. The movie develops really well.

Christopher Lloyd is the medical, intellectual counterpart to Emma Thompson’s character as an English professor. This movie follows her humanization to the end, while Christopher Lloyd and his medical team remain a detached fixture, for lack of a better oxymoron.

There are a few minor characters that add so much power to this story. This story is about human nature, one’s need for a personal connection, how we are to treat each other.

There are also characters that will infuriate you and compel you to root for Emma Thompson, even though up until the time she got sick she was a Very Not Nice Person. You’re human; it’s the Right Thing To Do.

This movie will make you cry. I cried the first time I watched it, then I took it home and watched it three more times. These days, I appreciate how the movie doesn’t lose power with each viewing.

It’s a relatively simple film, with minimal scenes that depend heavily on the actors to carry the story. Carry they do, perhaps even cradle. Or finesse.

The writing is excellent, as most plays can’t or shouldn’t really depend on special effects. The subject matter is relevant. The story flows, in part due to the writing, but also because the acting measures up. Because the writing is so good. Because the actors commit to the parts. Because the writing creates the strong characters. Writing. Acting. Yay!